Berhtram Brandt
Berhtram Brandt, more commonly known as by his code name Arael, is the field commander of the Schwarze Krähen Macht and the son of the Commandant.The Cauldron of Black: Through The Looking Glass Appearance Berhtram is a young man with an effeminate appearance - something which is often said to contrast with his attitude and overall personality. He is Caucasian and of pale complexion, with long white hair and blue eyes. He has an athletic build that doesn't take away from his effeminate appearance, although it does carry the illusion of him being slimmer than he actually is. In casual terms, he usually wears a short-sleeved shirt with matching pants, and the type of fabric worn varies from time to time. In his military uniform, he sports a dark blue long coat with tassels, cotton pants and black combat boots. A necklace with a fruit-like pendant is usually worn around the neck. Personality In summary, Berhtram is mostly seen as a mild-mannered, soft-spoken and affable individual. He attempts to be lax, even in the face of those who don't seem to appreciate his social approach. Although he is the acting commander of the Schwarze Krähen Macht, he constantly aids in their endeavors if they need it (e.g. delivering information and messages between members and sources). He can become serious and firm within a heartbeat if needed, holding no qualms about committing unethical and immoral acts to get the job done (although he refers to such things with a grim disposition). He seems to hold no personal grudge against the Shinigami, seeing as he willingly works with them (particularly in the case of Braeburn McTavish.The War of Four: Aftermath However, he holds a rather zealous belief in the kinship of the Quincy and believes it a crime for Quincy to fight one another.The War of Four: Where Loose Ends Meet In combat, he attacks and defends with professionalism. Yet at the same time, he is ruthless and pragmatic, eager to exploit an enemy's weak points whenever possible. However, between this cold and precise attitude are signs that he enjoys fighting and testing himself against strong opponents. He will flash his opponent a smirk if they are doing well and even compliment them if he holds a semblance of respect against them. In more heated moments, however, he will react negatively if he is overwhelmed or finds that he is unable to kill the opponent as efficiently as he had hoped.The Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize Despite his appreciation of strong opponents, he will not hesitate to taunt and belittle weaker targets. This behavior is due to a high level of confidence, which can borderline on arrogance in some instances. This behavior is also a sign of his true nature. He is rather prideful and confident, carrying himself with the "grace of a god". In the manner akin to a sociopath, he sees everything associated with him as little more than a possession, title or tool - even people. He cares deeply for his subordinates, and yet sees them little more than possessions valued more than his others. Everything else is a means to an end and a tool to be manipulated in any way he sees. While he appears to dislike confrontation with another Quincy, he is incredibly scornful of enemy Quincy to the point where he will refer to them as "traitors" to Ywhach himself, finding great pleasure in killing them as much as he would with any other enemy. In addition, he has only bare reign on his impulses; the mention of his actual name instead of his code name by a distant associate or enemy can infuriate him. Whenever his plans go awry due to unexpected elements (e.g. the intervention of Rey DoradoThe Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize), he will give into his anger and focus on destroying the undesired element. History Berhtram was born shortly after Beethoven Brandt married to Liselotte and long after the purge of the Quincies. He was one of the select few individuals Beethoven carried close to his heart, and was thus given special treatment over the men and women under his command. Although he was given a semblance of normal life, he was influenced heavily by military culture and history. His exposure to history allowed him to gain interest in successful and famous leading figures within both the Material and Spiritual worlds. This, along with the development of his combat skills and abilities under the training of Andreas Faerber, gave him the strong desire to follow his father's footsteps as a strong and unflappable leader. Tabris served as the acting commander for the Schwarze Krähen Macht when Berhtram was growing up. At the age of fourteen, Berhtram carried the characteristics of a blooming leader. He demonstrated intelligence and the ability to sway other members to his flow as well as Andreas's whenever necessary, causing the Commandant's soldiers to recognize him as the successor of the throne. Berhtram himself grew entranced by his own charisma and soon embraced it as his greatest trait, expressing it to the fullest extent whenever possible. His excitement from his power caused him to become impatient, and he made a constant question of when he would be able to obtain Andreas's position. Eventually, Beethoven grew irritated with his son's impatience and eventually punished him when it became clear that the young boy would try and forcefully usurp it from his mentor. It was also severe enough to quiet any hints of treason Berhtram was showing against the likes of his own father. It would be at the age of twenty one when Berhtram would finally supercede Andreas and become the field commander of the S.K.M., his influence giving way to his being admired and heavily respected by the others. In the following four years, he would grow to mature quickly and become a more professional individual, much to the pride of his parents. Synopsis Bleach: The War of Four *The War of Four: Aftermath Post-War of Four *The War of Four: Where Loose Ends Meet The Cauldron of Black Arc *The Cauldron of Black: Assembly of the Fallen *The Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize *The Cauldron of Black: Through The Looking Glass Powers & Abilities Genius Intellect: Berhtram is a charismatic individual, very aware of both his status as well as the status of others. He is capable of long-term planning, able to adjust himself and adapt to the majority of situations he comes across. He can appropriately use the feelings - prominently, their insecurities - to his own good use and mold his targets into appropriate pawns under his finger. He holds considerable skill as a tactician, always playing to his subordinates' strengths and minimizing their weaknesses when deploying them out on the field. The same applies to himself; he will always focus on utilizing advantages and gaining an edge against his opponents rather than trying to overpower them through sheer force. Immense Spiritual Power: As the leading Archangel of the Schwarze Krähen Macht, Berhtram possesses a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. He is regarded as the strongest Archangel within the S.K.M.'s ranks, fully capable of subduing the majority of his subordinates' power if necessary. He holds a masterful amount of control over it, capable of affecting events within the environment with it as well as people that happen to be caught under its influence. The potency of it is such that simply releasing it in the presence of much weaker beings runs the risk of killing them. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Berhtram is very adept in the use of a blade - particularly his own falchion sword. He prefers to fight brandishing his blade in one hand for quicker attacks. He is considerably precise with his strikes, aiming to use his opponent's strength and momentum to his advantage rather than fight it off. He also makes it a habit to open up and exploit weak points presented to him, timing and plotting his movements in order to corner and suppress his target. His skill in the use of swordplay is such that he can destroy multitudes of enemies with ease.The Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize Reishi Manipulation: As a Quincy, Berhtram possesses the ability to meld spiritrons within the environment with his own energy and mold it to whatever shape he desires. Not only can he traditionally form weapons with it, he can transform spiritrons into energy constructs that can defend or attack on his will.The Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize His extent of mastery is such that he is referred to as an "artist who paints the setting with his power". He has created a variety of techniques that stem from the manipulation of reishi to great effect against his targets. *'Hirenyaku Master:' Berhtram's skill with Hirenyaku allows him to move at unimaginable speeds. His ability to move quickly within fragments of seconds makes him a severe threat to anyone who is even the slightest off their guard, as he can kill his targets within the blink of an eye. He can mask his movements within his Hirenyaku, disallowing opponents to read them after he has come out of a movement. He was fast enough to move in from a great distance and stop Xavier Longstreak from unsheathing his blade, as well as catching up to him and kicking him back down to the fourth level of Hell when the latter was on the second level.The Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize *'Blut:' An advanced Quincy technique which grants one inhuman offensive and defensive capabilities, generated by making Reishi flow into the user's blood vessels. The independent forms for attack and defense cannot be employed simultaneously. **'Blut Vene:' The defensive form of Blut, which grants its user inhuman durability. Arael's Blut Vene is considerably potent, capable of negating the power of a Shinigami's Bankai, Hollow's Resurrecion and even another Quincy's Vollständig if consciously maintained at full strength. There are only a few within the S.K.M.'s ranks that match the strength of Arael's Blut Vene, and he is rendered nigh-indestructible when putting it to great effect on the battlefield. ***'Blut Vene: Opfer Angriff' (German for "Blood Vein: Sacrificial Attack"): When a physical blow strong enough to penetrate Arael's Blut Vene connects, a portion of strength equal to what was exerted is drained from the opponent's body and absorbed by Arael as compensation for the injury. Continuous attacks will continue to drain an opponent's strength until he or she is completely weakened, making them more vulnerable to Arael's counter-attack. The height of Opfer Angriff can plant Arael into a "berserker" state where his attack power is next to impossible to contend with, although the severity of his wounds can hinder the length at which he can maintain this state. The Vision: Berhtram's special Schrift ability. He can emit flashes of light that not only blinds whoever that is looking at him, but also causes horrendous damage to the very soul of the body. The reason for the pain is the light probing the bodies of its targets for whatever information within before sending it back to Arael. It also establishes a link between the targets and himself, and from that point on, he can induce hallucinations and subliminal messages within the affected's minds so powerful that the brain actually interprets them as reality. The latter part of the Vision can extend to individuals the targets have a certain relationship to. Spirit Weapon Reishi Sword: Using his Quincy Cross, Arael can gather both spirit energy and particles and transform them into weapons. Unlike the bows that are manifested by the majority of Quincy, Arael's weapon manifests in the form a falchion with a cleaver-type blade. Notably, he can keep this weapon maintained at a constant and natural rate, even keeping it in a manifested sheath secured to his waist. *'Heilig Pfeil' (神聖滅矢 (ハイリッヒ・ブファイル), Hairihhi Pufairu; German for "Holy Arrow", Japanese for "Sacred Destruction Arrows"): An ability shared by the majority of Quincy. Unlike most Quincy, Arael doesn't require the use of a Spirit Weapon in order to conjure them and can simply use his fingers and hands. The power of his arrows can reduce a target to nothing.The Cauldron of Black: Through The Looking Glass Quincy: Vollständig Vision of God: Berhtram wears a necklace with a red, fruit-like gem hung from the end. The Quincy symbol is imbued within its innards, while on the outside it possesses traits of a human facial structure. When activated, the "eyes" of the gem will open to reveal pupils replaced by the Quincy symbol. The gem glows, and a substantial amount of spiritual energy is released in the form of a giant cross-shaped pillar. Berhtram steps out, donning sleek black armor and a bird-like helmet that obscures the majority of the head, save for the eyes and mouth. A cape with nearly the length of his body is fitted around his shoulders. *'Enhanced Strength:' Demonstrated by a considerably enhanced physique, Berhtram possesses supernatural strength while utilizing his Vollständig. Blows delivered by him can create enough concussive force to send targets flying away from him for considerable distances. Grapples and holds can easily shatter captured muscle and bone. Even successful blocks aren't enough to keep an opponent's body from creaking under the pressure of his strikes. *'Enhanced Spiritual Power:' Unlike in his normal state where his spiritual energy is more quiet and phantom-like, Berhtram's Vollständig allows it to become violent and unrestrained. The potency of it is such that the very environment can be consumed by his power if exposed to him for too long. Even he is affected by his own power, in terms of mental state; he will forgo his polite and mild-mannered persona, his ego and arrogance and overall maliciousness enhanced considerably. *'Enhanced Speed:' In this form, Berhtram's already incredible speed increases to a point in where even the most masterful of eyes find it difficult to track him properly. The visual effects of his Hirenyaku are rendered invisible to the senses, making it appear as if he is teleporting from one place to another within a fraction of a second. *'The Godeye:' The special ability of Berhtram's Vollständig and an evolved form of his Schrift "The Prophecy". His reiryoku connects with the reishi within the environment in a sort of binding link. Doing so allows him to gain complete and total awareness of anything within his influence. Even sentient beings are affected, with the connection reaching to the very depths of their mind. While "connected", he can read both their minds and actions before and during when they take place. Every move made against him is exposed to him, allowing him to time and counterattack with maximum lethality. Unlike the Prophecy, which requires intense focus on even a single opponent, the Godeye removes this limitation and allows him to read the processes of multiple opponents quite easily. Battles & Events Events Battles References Category:Male Category:Character